Some of you may have noticed that my avatar has changed. It is now a photo of Rusty a bear with a lot of personality that is made out of carved redwood and sits in my small redwood grove and fern garden to welcome visotrs. My kids knew that I loved carved redwood bears and knew that I would be especially fond of this one. They bought it for my birthday. It is one of my favorite gifts that I’ve ever received.
I love his friendly smile and “Aw, Shucks!” pose.
About russtowne
I'm awed by the beauty of nature and the power of love and gratitude. Some of my favorite sensory experiences include waves crashing on rocky shores, waterways in ancient redwood and fern-filled forests, and rain. My wife and I have been married since 1979. We have 3 adult children and 5 grandchildren. I manage a wealth management firm that I founded in 2003. My Beloved is a Special Education teacher for Kindergartners and First Graders. I'm a published author of approximately 60 books in a variety of genres for grownups and children.
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
We like this guy!
Bella and DiDi
Thank you! And I know that you’ll both have the excellent manners that you are so well known for to remember that Rusty isn’t a giant chew toy! ;-D! The two of you are welcome in my garden any time!
Yes, Russ we wouldn’t chew on him. Although we can’t lie the thought crossed our minds. š
Love this pic! And I see all your ferns coming… must be gorgeous. I enjoy two huge spruce in my front yard, and carefully garden with tough drought tolerant plants just past the drip line around their shallow roots. But oh how I can imagine your Redwoods. They would dwarf my 2 old spruce.
Thank you, Gina. Some of the ferns are now 6-8 feet across. I’ve planted probably 15-20 different types/varieties/kinds (I don’t know the official name for types of ferns). I also have rush, horsetail, and dwarf horsetail. I love ancient plants. I like to think that dinosaurs walked among plants that are very similar to the ones in my fern garden.
The groundcover is comprised of 3 types of redwood sorrel (the plant that has huge clover leafs with beautiful little white and pink flowers that one sees carpeting many ares of parks with redwood trees. I have all-green redwood sorrel (the kind you see in most parks) and Klamath Ruby which is green on top but the underside is a beautiful ruby color and is visible when the leaves close up at night and when direct sun or raindrops hit them, and a third variety that is all purple that has “Wine” in the name but I forget off-hand the full name.
I go out into the grove and garden with Duke almost every day and Rusty is always there to greet us. It is one of my Happy Places. It is hard to stay sad or depressed among such beauty. Though sometimes when I’m in a self-pitying mood I try. Fortunately, those are infrequent and becoming less frequent all the time. I’m too blessed to delude myself for long that I have anything to feel sorry for myself about.